Mercedes-Benz Q&A

I've owned the vehicle for about six months, and took it to the dealer before it went out of warranty. I reported that I had intermittently detected a very strong, obnoxious odor in the passenger cabin of the car. Kind of a chemical odor - bad enough to burn my eyes at times. I've not been able to determine a particular condition that seems to produce the situation. And the dealer was unable to find a cause. But it still is happening. Has anyone else experienced this? I don't know if emissions are leaking into the car from the engine compartment or there is some electrical problem. I need help.

you need to find a local reputable MB specialty shop. the dealer is just a warranty repair station and they are not really qualified to help track down this odor. other MB's,
like the E350 have had problem with fuel tank leaks and raw gasoline odor comes into the car, but this problem has not happened in the SLK line. you may want to see if your car was a lemon law "buy back", it's worth a Carfax to see.
if the original owner had this same problem, MB may have
bought the car back, then it was re-sold at the auction. the lemon law only applies to the first owner; not to the second owner. there also could have been some kind of solvent used on the carpet to eliminate a stain or something, but this would be a constant odor, not intermittent. the only other possibility is an engine oil leak which leaks on the exhaust; this will smell like
something burning. a good independent MB shop can spot this type of leak on a basic inspection. please be aware
that it is possible that the exact cause may never be
identified; may be the reason the original owner got rid of the car.